The present invention relates to a compact portable emergency aid apparatus and especially to a compact device for audibly playing back CPR or other emergency instructions while providing GPS location information on the site of the emergency.
In any rescue operation, it is of importance for a rescuer to administer aid to a victim as soon as possible as well as to obtain help with the emergency as soon as possible. In a proper rescue operation, the chances of survival or recovery of the victim is greatly improved if the victim is given proper treatment in a prompt manner. To carry out a rescue operation effectively, the rescuer must follow the steps that have medical standard rescue procedures. Such standard rescue procedures are well developed in the medical field and professional rescue personnel, such as paramedics, firemen and nurses, are usually trained in the most common procedure for handling common emergencies. However, emergencies most often take place when there are no firemen, paramedics, or nurses available to perform emergency procedures, such as might be required in a CPR or trauma rescue. Furthermore, even trained personnel are frequently hammered by the chaotic circumstances in an emergency situation normally encountered in an emergency. It is also imperative in an emergency to be able to provide the exact location of the emergency so that professional personnel can get to the scene of the emergency as quickly as possible so that anyone hurt in the emergency can be properly and quickly transported to a hospital or other care facility.
The present invention is directed towards a compact-portable emergency aid apparatus which is not much larger than a typical credit card but which can give audible instructions to an untrained, as well as a trained person, performing CPR or similar emergency procedures. The audible instruction can be in a selected language for the individual having to provide the emergency procedure and the site location of the emergency can be ascertained at the same time for directing emergency personnel to the site.
In the past, there have been a number of instructional and rescue devices for emergency situations and these include the U.S. patent to Battaglia U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,037 for a portable rescue administration aid device which may be worn on a rescuer's wrist and is operative to provide sequential procedural displays of medical standard rescue steps for assisting the rescuer in carrying out the correct rescue operation. In the Feder et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,954, an instructional CD player is provided for providing emergency information. The information is provided in a portable unit which may be carried to an emergency site and can provide sequential procedural displays of medical standard rescue steps for assisting the rescuer in carrying out the correct rescue operation. Similarly, in the Feder et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,812, an emergency information apparatus and method provide for a portable unit which can be carried to the emergency site and provides sequential procedural displays of medical standard steps for assisting the rescuer in carrying out the correct rescue operation. A standard rescue procedure is stored in a microprocessor which can be reprogrammed as necessary.
In the Parker et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,383, an interactive synthetic speech CPR trainer/prompter and method of use provides visual and synthetic speech prompts for assisting the person in a cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A plurality of actuator push buttons and indicator lamps provide synthetic voice prompts with synthetic speech instructions. The Hutchins U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,524 is a cardiopulmonary resuscitation prompting system which includes a keyboard which allows the input of information and then provides visual information to a rescuer and a loudspeaker for providing audible intelligent prompts that are reproduced phonemes originating with a speech synthesizer.
In the Bower U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,395, an emergency audible instruction apparatus for a fire extinguisher provides audible instructions for instructing a participant in handling an emergency, allowing a participant in an emergency to use both hands and eyes in treating the emergency rather than having to read the instructions.
The present invention is directed towards a very compact portable emergency aid apparatus for providing audibly CPR instructions while simultaneously providing a GPS site readout. A small sized unit stores the instructions digitally in an EEPROM chip in multiple languages and uses a digital signal processor or DPS chip for controlling the readout processing of the compressed stored information. The DSP chip decompresses the compressed data and converts the digital data to analog audio signals for application to an audio circuit for producing the audio in an earpiece or in a speaker. The small nature of the device allows it to be stored on a person when traveling or in public places where emergencies can occur and where emergency personnel may not be readily available.